14th September, 2020
Aqium, Australia’s no. 1 selling hand sanitiser brand in pharmacy*, is about to become a feature of your regular rides with 13cabs.
Aqium Hand Sanitiser is becoming standard issue for the 13cabs fleet across Australia, from Geraldton across to Coffs Harbour and from Hobart right up to Townsville.
13cabs Drivers have access to Vehicle Sanitisation Hubs around Australia and are well versed in Health Department Guidelines to keep themselves and their Passengers safe.
13cabs Chief Operating Officer Stuart Overell said “Our Drivers provide an essential service to communities throughout Australia, so it was vital that we established mechanisms to ensure 13cabs vehicles were safe and hygienic from the very first days of the pandemic. We established new protocols for cleaning and rolled out a massive Driver awareness campaign. One thing we found inspiring was the supportive Passenger response to being encouraged to use contactless payment options. Payments for rides using the payment features in the 13cabs app have recently increased by more than 400% so we know the message is getting through.”
Ego Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Alan Oppenheim said “Ego Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of Aqium Hand Sanitiser, are thrilled to partner with 13cabs on their exciting new initiative. We all know how important it is to encourage good hand hygiene, which is why you’ll be able to find Aqium’s hospital grade, gentle-on-the-skin hand sanitiser in all 13cabs nationally for passengers and drivers to use.” “Our Aqium antibacterial hand sanitiser has been trusted by Australians for 20 years to effectively kill 99.99% of germs fast without the need for water.”
Overell went on to say, “The partnership of 13cabs with fellow Australian brand Aqium is taking hygiene to the next level.”
13cabs Head of Driver Engagement Olivia Barry explains “Our Drivers were already impressed with the initiatives that we put in place at the beginning of the pandemic, including our Vehicle Sanitisation Hubs.” “They continue to feel supported with further resources that allow them to go on working in a safe and confident way.”
Our Drivers are pleased to have access, free of charge, to Aqium’s high quality product for both themselves and their Passengers”.
13cabs Driver Nicole from Bendigo in regional Victoria told us, “We are responsible for our vehicles, I’m religious about keeping my car clean and following all the rules. The Aqium partnership is part of our arsenal. This along with other COVID risk reduction procedures have made it possible for me to keep driving during the pandemic”.
13cabs Driver and operator of fourteen vehicles in Newcastle Navjit shared, “The beginning of the pandemic was hard, people and Drivers were feeling scared. We knew we needed to be there to provide the essential travel to medical appointments, so we felt a sense of pride to serve our community. The support from 13cabs has been excellent and they have set the example from a safety point of view, there is no doubt. Having Aqium hand sanitiser in all my cars is an additional service that my passengers really appreciate…”
And it’s not only the Drivers that have been impressed with the focus on hygiene at 13cabs. 13cabs has recently won Government tenders to provide vehicle sanitisation services to all Taxis, not just 13cabs, as well as to all rideshare vehicles.
Overell continues, “At a time when the needs of the community come first, it was natural for us to share our capabilities even with rideshare cars. We take pride in setting ourselves apart from rideshare on safety, and to do that we invested in 30,000
built in safety cameras, tamper proof GPS tracking, 24 hour contact centre monitoring in Australia, multiple safety inspections each year and higher quality Driver vetting, training and insurance. But when it comes to a pandemic that’s impacting all of us, we need to do everything we can to ensure the entire community is safe. It is nice that the 13cabs drivers get to feel a little special because they are the ones that are being supported not only by 13cabs but also by Aqium”.
Overell concluded, “The Aqium and 13cabs partnership is a wonderful example of Australian companies working together. Aqium is produced by Melbourne based, Australian owned Ego Pharmaceuticals, which has created a strong reputation built on consistently delivering efficacious, high quality and innovative products. At 13cabs, which is part of the A2B Australia family, we have set out to do exactly that – deliver high-quality and innovative services. 13cabs has the privilege of supporting local operators with a footprint that is expanding rapidly across the country. We recently welcomed Wollongong, Darwin, Apollo Bay, Mareeba and Mandurah to the fold. In collaboration with Ego Pharmaceuticals, it’s wonderful to see local businesses throughout Australia benefitting from class leading products such as Aqium.”
